Browse Month: April 2017

After a whole week (and really the last few months) of lots of girl sewing I’m excited to bring something for my little guy today! The Game Day collection designed by Lori Whitlock for Riley Blake is SO fun! It’s the perfect mix of juvenile but still cool for older kids, even the girl said, “hey, that’s awesome fabric, can I get something too??”

After using knits for so much it takes some thought for me to decide on woven patterns. Recently this kid has outgrown ever jacket in the closet and while it’s starting to warm up, there are still those days that need something lightweight. So, jacket it was! Plus a jacket has been on my bucket list for awhile now, might as well check it off right?!

I looked at a few pattern options but ultimately loved the versatility that the Starboard Jacket from Peekaboo Pattern Shop provided. Can be made with wovens, knits, nylon, PUL, really almost anything since it doesn’t require any ease or stretch. While I did have to make something with my nemesis, the zipper, I have to say it really wasn’t so bad and I’m thrilled with how it turned out!

Our photoshoot went downhill quickly when Daddy gave him the water pack….

My favorite print from this line was the Sports Ticket in Navy, so I went with that for my main fabric. The jacket is full lined with knit gray and white 1″ stripes, also from Riley Blake.

Huge thank you to Lori for the invitation to join in her release tour! And to Riley Blake for generously sending both fabrics for this project. Also to Peekaboo Pattern Shop for providing a copy of the Starboard Jacket pattern!

Don’t miss the rest of the stops this week to see some other awesome inspiriation for this fabulous collection!!

What a week!!! Thank you so much to everyone who followed along with us, I hope you’ve found some new inspiration and ideas to use with your own kids. I know I had a great time seeing all the different looks everyone created.

Congratulations Cat Gerstenschlager!!

And for our grand prize…

One more HUGE thank you to all our sponsors, this would not have been possible without their support!

I know you’re all here for the inspiration, the patterns and the fabrics but I’m hoping I can pass along another bit of wisdom when it comes to kids and their preferences, traching our kids confidence and being able to listen to what they want (and not just hear what we want to hear them say).

For a long time my daughter was so proud of anything and everything I made for her. She would stand tall and be thrilled to tell anyone that complimented her “thanks! My mom made it!” All it took was ONE comment from someone making fun of an outfit she had on that was “homemade” and that was it, suddenly all the beautiful things hanging in the closet weren’t cool enough for her to wear to school anymore.

Elliedactyl Designs 10k Pants
Up until that point, I felt like i’d been doing a great job at instilling independent thinking and confidence, but when it took such a little thing to crush those feelings I felt like I must have failed somewhere. Since then, we’ve talked a lot about being and loving who we are and I’ve stressed the importance of being your own person, and loving what SHE wants to love, not just what everyone else at school loves. I admit, it’s getting better, but it also means I have had to be more open to truly letting her wear (and making) what she wants, not what I want her to want. I’ve really had to listen, and while that can be a struggle, its really helping her to gain the voice that I want her to have.

And some days I get…. well, not as cute but its her, and its what she loves. (And not always Handmade, which is ok too)

Sorry to get all sappy on you today, I just really wanted to share that while we can try our best to make things they will love, we sometimes have to teach them its ok to love what they want, even when other kids may have a different opinion. So enough of my blabbering…. How about today’s stops on our blog?? Is a big day today! On our lineup today we have-

I am so blown away by the response we have had so far!! Thank you all for following along this week while we share our inspiration and tips/tricks for keeping our older kiddos wearing and loving handmade items.

If you’re just joining us be sure to go back over the last few days to get caught up. You definitely don’t want to miss entering our giveaways!! The linkup is looking great, you can keep adding to that until tomorrow night (4/20)!!

Don’t have an item to link up, no worries! You can enter HERE for the other prize pack!

Welcome to day 2 of our tour! It’s been so fun to read all the comments shared about what challenges you face or what tips you might have when it comes to sewing for your older kiddos. One of the things I saw mentioned a few times was finding fabrics at a reasonable cost, or not being able to see/feel them ahead of time because you’re having to order online. Trust me, I face those same things! I do have some secrets to share though…

I’ll admit, I miss being able to make some of the cute character things for her, i’m in SO many custom fabric groups that it’s really tempting. Ultimately what she wants, is fabrics that are going to blend into the background; prints that looks most like those we could buy at a store. Fabrics like this beautiful plaid from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. This is one of their Club fabrics, essentially one that is designed for them and then printed in house. For those that don’t have a touch and feel computer screen it is SO SOFT!! Even better, they are afforable! At roughly $10-12 a yard I don’t feel super guilty making items that I know will get worn on a regular basis.

That bring us to the next thing… patterns that are “approved” by the boss for every day wear. Lately she has been designing her own patterns… meaning she draws it out and expects me to translate that into something I can make, HAHA! Often there are some patterns that I can make minor changes to or combine to get just what she wants. Here is her latest design

Camden Raglan – Harry Potter is definitely an exception to the no character rule!!

Another favorite, is just about anything athletic related. So while I picked up the New Horizons 11th Hour Gear to use for my little guy, Ry has also decided she LOVES the pants!

Want a chance to win ALL the patterns I mentioned, PLUS giftcards for fabric to make them??? Dont miss out on our awesome giveaway!! You can enter HERE! Huge thank you to all our sponsors, these prizes are really impressive!!!

Welcome to our debut Growing Up Handmade blog tour! I am so excited to be hosting this amazing group of bloggers, they have some really great ideas to share with you all!

As a mom to a fabulous, independent, driven and sometimes full of attitude 9 year old, it’s been increasingly difficult to find that common ground when it comes to homemade clothing. I have to be sure to find trendy fabrics and patterns so that what i’m making doesn’t just hang in the closet unworn. I thought if I was having this issue there had to be others in the same boat, and wouldn’t it be great to have a whole week dedicated to ideas and styles that might make everyone’s job a little easier?! So that brings us here!

Follow along this week for lots of ideas that you can hopefully incorporate into your summer lineup! BUT to sweeten the week, we have an AWESOME group of sponsors and we’ve been able to put together TWO incredible prize packages totaling over $500!!!!!

Your first chance to win is simple, just click HERE and check out all our fabulous sponsors! Contest ends on Thursday 4/20 and winner will be announced on Friday the 21st. This prize package includes over $100 in giftcards for fabric from Raspberry Creek, Phat Quarters and Purpleseamstress, the FULL Girls Boho pattern collection from Petite Stitchery plus additional patterns to bring that fabric to life from Winter Wear, Hey June, Made for Mermaids, Greenstyle, Love Notions, Patterns for Pirates, Striped Swallow, SisBoom, EYMM, Simple Life Pattern Co and StitchART free motion.

Our 2nd package includes $70 in fabric giftcards from So Sew English and Simply by Ti, plus your choice of a pattern (or two in a few instances) from each of the following designers Winter Wear, Hey June, Made for Mermaids, Greenstyle, 5 out of 4 Patterns, Striped Swallow, EYMM and Simple Life Pattern Co. To enter for THIS package just join our linkup party!! One person that shares will be randomly chosen and announced on Friday also.